FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.12.6

కిం తే కామా: సురస్పార్హా ముకున్దమనసో ద్విజా: । అధిజహ్రుర్ముదం రాజ్ఞ: క్షుధితస్య యథేతరే ॥ ౬ ॥
kiṁ te kāmāḥ sura-spārhā
[kim te kaamaah sura-spaarhaa]
mukunda-manaso dvijāḥ
[mukunda-manaso dvijaah]
adhijahrur mudaṁ rājṣaḥ
[adhijahrur mudam raajshah]
kṣudhitasya yathetare
[kshudhitasya yathetare]
kim — what for te — all those kāmāḥ — objects of sense enjoyment sura — of the denizens of heaven spārhāḥ — aspirations mukunda-manasaḥ — of one who is already God conscious dvijāḥ — O brāhmaṇas adhijahruḥ — could satisfy mudam — pleasure rājṣaḥ — of the king kṣudhitasya — of the hungry yathā — as it is itare — in other things.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
kiṁ te kāmāḥ sura-spārhā
kim
what for
te
all those
kāmāḥ
objects of sense enjoyment
sura
of the denizens of heaven
spārhāḥ
aspirations
mukunda-manaso dvijāḥ
mukunda-manasaḥ
of one who is already God conscious
dvijāḥ
O brāhmaṇas
adhijahrur mudaṁ rājṣaḥ
adhijahruḥ
could satisfy
mudam
pleasure
rājṣaḥ
of the king
kṣudhitasya yathetare
kṣudhitasya
of the hungry
yathā
as it is
itare
in other things.
O brāhmaṇas, the opulence of the King was so enchanting that the denizens of heaven aspired for it. But because he was absorbed in the service of the Lord, nothing could satisfy him except the Lord’s service.

There are two things in the world which can satisfy living beings. When one is materially engrossed, he is satisfied only by sense gratification, but when one is liberated from the conditions of the material modes, he is satisfied only by rendering loving service for the satisfaction of the Lord. This means that the living being is constitutionally a servitor, and not one who is served. Being illusioned by the conditions of the external energy, one falsely thinks himself to be the served, but actually he is not served; he is servant of the senses like lust, desire, anger, avarice, pride, madness and intolerance. When one is in his proper senses by attainment of spiritual knowledge, he realizes that he is not the master of the material world, but is only a servant of the senses. At that time he begs for the service of the Lord and thus becomes happy without being illusioned by so-called material happiness. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was one of the liberated souls, and therefore for him there was no pleasure in a vast kingdom, good wife, obedient brothers, happy subjects and prosperous world. These blessings automatically follow for a pure devotee, even though the devotee does not aspire for them. The example set herein is exactly suitable. It is said that one who is hungry is never satisfied by anything other than food.

The whole material world is full of hungry living beings. The hunger is not for good food, shelter or sense gratification. The hunger is for the spiritual atmosphere. Due to ignorance only they think that the world is dissatisfied because there is not sufficient food, shelter, defense and objects of sense gratification. This is called illusion. When the living being is hungry for spiritual satisfaction, he is misrepresented by material hunger. But the foolish leaders cannot see that even the people who are most sumptuously materially satisfied are still hungry. And what is their hunger and poverty? This hunger is actually for spiritual food, spiritual shelter, spiritual defense and spiritual sense gratification. These can be obtained in the association of the Supreme Spirit, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and therefore one who has them cannot be attracted by the so-called food, shelter, defense and sense gratification of the material world, even if they are relished by the denizens of the heavenly planets. Therefore, in the Bhagavad-gītā (8.16) it is said by the Lord that even in the topmost planet of the universe, namely the Brahmaloka, where the duration of life is multiplied by millions of years by earth calculation, one cannot satisfy his hunger. Such hunger can be satisfied only when the living being is situated in immortality, which is attained in the spiritual sky, far, far above the Brahmaloka, in the association of Lord Mukunda, the Lord who awards His devotees the transcendental pleasure of liberation.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O brāhmaṇa! He had all wealth, sacrifices, planets, queens, brothers, the earth, lordship over Jambū-dvīpa, and fame in Svarga, desirable even for the devatās. Did these things give joy to the King, whose mind was only fixed on Mukunda without deviation and nothing else?
Commentary

The wealth and other items were desired by the devatās. Spārhāḥ means desire, coming from spṛha, by adding the internal vowel “a”. Did these things create happiness for the King? No. The reason is given: he was thinking of Mukunda. “Other things” includes sandalwood and garlands offered in honor.

📝 My note

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